1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a utility improvement in muzzle-loading firearms, specifically to the elimination of parts, improvement of accuracy, ease of loading, and an improved means of handling percussion ignition devices.
2. Description of Prior Art
Typically, a muzzle-loading firearm comprises a barrel which is substantially closed at one end and is loaded by placement of the powder and the desired projectile(s) into the barrel from the open or muzzle end. The ignition source is typically a small percussion device placed so as when struck with the hammer of the firing mechanism, the resulting pyrotechnic flame is transmitted through a rather small opening into the closed end of the barrel (breech end) where it ignites the powder, thus causing the firearm to discharge.
The ignition device may also be of the older variety comprised of a flint or other material attached to a movable hammer which when caused to rapidly contact a striker plate, a spark is generated. This spark ignites a small powder charge in the frizzen pan. The burning powder then ignites the powder in the breech through a small hole in the closed end of the barrel, thus causing the firearm to discharge. This type of ignition system is commonly referred to as a "flintlock".
Traditional firearms may have barrels of two types. The barrel may be of the smoothbore type as is typical of shotguns and traditional muskets. The firearms barrel may also be rifled, meaning the barrel is formed so as to have a spiral or twisted, internally grooved configuration. In some cases the actual bore may be polygon shaped and made to have the same internal spiral or twisted internal configuration. This spiral internal configuration is commonly referred to as rifling. The twist of the grooved or polygon shaped bore imparts a spinning motion to the projectile as it is expelled from the barrel by the detonation of the powder charge. The spinning motion of the projectile helps to stabilize the projectile in flight once it has cleared the muzzle of the firearm.
Traditional muzzle-loading rifles are loaded with a solid lead round ball with a cloth or paper patch serving as both a seal between the ball and bore and as a means to grip the rifling of the bore. Solid lead bullets may also be fired from muzzle-loaders. In this case, the bullet is forced into the muzzle of the rifle without the cloth patch as is used with the round ball. The rifling is engraved on the lead bullet as it is forced into the muzzle of the firearm. In both cases the rifling of the barrel tends to spin the projectile as it is fired. The faster the projectile can be spun, the greater the stabilizing effect, and therefore the accuracy potential is increased. The reliance upon the cloth patch or relatively soft pure lead to grip the rifling of the barrel in order to spin the projectile limits the rate of twist which may be effectively used in the rifle barrel. The shallow rifling (and resulting weak rifling/bullet grip strength), which may be engraved on a lead bullet when forced into the muzzle by hand, limits the rifling twist rate that can be used on rifles intended to fire lead bullets with the rifling engraved upon loading. Twist rates are typically one turn in forty-eight inches or more. Twist rates faster than this tend to produce rather inconsistent results as the cloth patches or pure lead projectiles do not provide sufficient gripping action to allow a consistent stabilizing spin to be imparted to the projectiles. That is, the mechanical gripping action between the lead projectiles and the rifling is lacking in sufficient strength to prevent slippage at twist rates faster than one turn in forty-eight inches.
One method of improving the bullet's ability to grip the rifling of the barrel is the use of a plastic sabot, which acts as a carrier for the bullet. This sabot has been a minor improvement, but also is found lacking. The bullet used with a sabot must be of smaller diameter than the rifle bore and is thus lighter than the normal bullet with correspondingly less kinetic energy when fired. The kinetic energy of the bullet is of significant importance to hunters as well as shooters participating in metallic silhouette competition. The sabot, while allowing the use of modern jacketed bullets, offers limited, if any, improvement in the rifling/bullet gripping concern.
Traditional means of muzzle-loading firearm ignition leave much desired in regard to reliability, ease of use, consistency, and susceptibility to inclement weather conditions. Flintlock or matchlock weapons are essentially unusable in rainy weather as the powder in the pan cannot be kept dry. The handling of flintlock weapons is also of great importance as the priming powder carried in the pan may be lost if the firearm is not handled in the proper orientation.
The advent of the percussion ignition system alleviated some of the problems associated with the flintlock; however, the percussion caps are small, making them difficult to handle, particularly in times of limited light and cold weather. These caps are also very susceptible to spoilage by inclement weather and may fall from the firing mechanism unbeknownst to the user. Even under the best of conditions, the flintlock or percussion cap may fail to ignite the powder due to an inadequate spark or an obstruction in the flash hole leading to the powder chamber. All of these conditions lead to a rather unreliable ignition system for use as a firing mechanism.
Further advances in the art such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,780,464 Anderson (December, 1973), 4,114,303 Vaughn (September, 1978), 4,222,191 Lee et al. (September, 1980), 4,227,330 Chapin (October, 1980), 4,232,468 Chapin (November, 1980), 4,283,874 Vaughn (August, 1981), 4,437,249 Brown et al. (March, 1984), 4,912,868 Thompson (April 1990), and 5,010,677 Verney Carron (April, 1991) in one fashion or another utilize a metallic cartridge or shotgun type of ignition primer. Without exception, all of these designs utilize a loose primer which must be placed in position by the shooter's fingers or a tool fashioned for the task. Again, all of these designs present varying degrees of difficulty in removing the fired primer and the insertion of another for repeated firing of the weapon.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,780,464 Anderson (December, 1973), and 4,283,874 Vaughn (August, 1981) have a cap which is screwed over the primer. This is a time consuming and delicate task, as is the placement and removal of the primer. This should be considered a safety hazard in that the shooter, due to the time and difficulty involved, would not be inclined to remove the primer to eliminate the possibility of accidental discharge of the weapon while climbing fences or into a blind or elevated stand. This insertion and removal of the primer from the weapon is made even more difficult in cold or wet conditions when the shooter may be wearing gloves or mittens. In the early morning or late evening under poor light conditions, this task would also be extremely difficult.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,303 Vaughn (September, 1978) utilizes a shotgun type primer which is exposed to the elements and is susceptible to loss. This design also provides no means for extraction of the primer either before or after firing.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,222,191 Lee et al. (September, 1980), 4,227,330 Vaughn (October, 1980), 4,232,468 Chapin (November, 1980) also utilize a shotgun type primer and do provide protection from the elements. However, no provisions are made to facilitate easy insertion or removal of the primer.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,437,249 Brown et al. (March, 1984) and 4,912,868 Thompson (April, 1990) provide means for partial extraction of the primer, but both must be removed with the aid of a fingernail or knife blade. The insertion of the primer as taught in patent '868 is difficult in that it must be placed in the breech plug through the shell ejection port of the shotgun. This task is difficult under ideal conditions, and practically impossible under adverse conditions of poor light and cold weather.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,757,447 Rowe (September, 1973), 4,700,499 Knight (October, 1987), and 5,133,143 Knight (July, 1992) all utilize the traditional percussion cap. All three designs have the cap placed on a nipple which is accessible only through a small opening. In these designs, installation and removal of the cap is a difficult and tedious task due to the restricted access to the nipple.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,677 Verney Carron (April, 1991) utilizes a shotgun type primer and a spring defined as "likely to extract the primer". This design, while partially expelling the primer, does not positively remove it nor does it facilitate easy installation.
None of the referenced patents disclose an ignition system conducive to quick and easy installation and removal of the primer or percussion cap under even the best of conditions.
Muzzle-loading firearms are typically cleaned by removing the percussion cap nipple, placing the breech or closed end of the barrel in a container of hot soapy water and pumping this hot water through the bore using a cleaning patch on the end of a cleaning rod. This cleaning technique precludes the use of short-eye-relief telescopic sights on muzzle-loaders, as the sight would have to be immersed in the hot water during the cleaning of the weapon.
No prior art concerning the use of pre-engraved bullets in muzzle-loading firearms has been discovered.